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City Scanner
The City Scanner, also known as Scanner Type IHalf-Life 2 Prima Guide and often referred to simply as Scanner, is a lightly armored, flying security camera used by the Combine to monitor City 17's (and possibly other cities) residents. Its Synth counterpart is the Shield Scanner. Application Scanners are equipped with a searchlight and a camera used to take photographic images. The flash emitted when taking an image can temporarily blind a person if they are looking directly at the flash. The scanner also has a spotlight mounted on its top, which is used for illumination and can move independently from its source. Scanners are powered by a single Combine battery, which can occasionally be salvaged from a destroyed unit and reused for armour in the HEV Suit. Scanners are lightly armored and can be destroyed easily by gunfire, impacting against walls or being hit by objects. A critically damaged scanner will frequently attempt to kamikaze dive into its attacker, while spinning on itself and emit an alarm. As the name implies, Scanners are generally used only in cities and are rarely encountered anywhere else. They are commonly seen patrolling City 17's Canals, searching for refugees. Other applications include reconnaissance and searching for wanted individuals. Scanners help by locating targets and alerting other nearby Combine units. During emergencies, Scanners can be mass-deployed in thousands from the Citadel, to perform a city-wide, and possibly out-of-city search such as when Gordon Freeman was detected in City 17. Interestingly, it appears that parts from a salvaged City Scanner were used in one of the more recent additions to Dog; both machines have a similar frontal design, though Dog's face possesses three face plates while Scanners have four for some reason. Behind the scenes *While the City Scanner started as a Synth under several variations that made their way into the Shield Scanner,Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar Ted Backman and Dhabih Eng both worked on the Scanners concepts; the first ended up with the Synth version, the second the mechanical one, first known as "Combot".Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar''Playable [[Half-Life 2 Beta|''Half-Life 2 Beta]] *As the Combot, the mechanical Scanner was to throw gas from its front,Playable ''Half-Life 2'' Beta and fire from the small ergots on its two sides.Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar *The mechanical Scanner design was initially modeled after the shape and movement of a piranha.Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar *11 sound files found in the playable Half-Life 2 Beta files also indicate that the mechanical Scanner was to talk directly to people via prerecorded messages. Spoken by a robotic female voice, they include sentences such as "Citizen, do not move", "You may proceed", "Hold still for scan", "Hands on your head" or "Violation has been noted".Playable ''Half-Life 2'' Beta files Trivia *In the Half-Life 2 chapters Anticitizen One and "Follow Freeman!", the npc_create npc_cscanner console code spawns a Shield Scanner. *Scanners are not directly met in Episode Two; they are only seen on the route to White Forest. Gallery File:Combot 1.jpg|The Combot. File:Scanner welcome.jpg|City Scanner welcoming Gordon Freeman to a brand new dystopian world. File:Scanner package.jpg|City Scanner following a Citizen. File:Scanner light1.jpg|City Scanner using its searchlight on the Trainstation Plaza. File:D1 trainstation 0200100.jpg|Scanner in front of the City 17 Trainstation. File:Citadel scanners.jpg|The Citadel deploying City Scanners. File:D3 citadel 020060.JPG|City Scanner in the Citadel. File:Citadel menu background.jpg|A Scanner light seen above in a Citadel shaft. File:D3 citadel 050361.JPG|Scanner above Crab and Mortar Synths. File:City scanner cmb logo.svg|Truncated red "CMB" Combine logo featured on its body. File:Scanner sprite.png|Sprite used when seeing Scanners from a distance, for instance when the Citadel first lits up or when Black Mesa East is attacked. File:Scanner sprite bottom.png|Ditto. File:Scanner sprite dots.png|Ditto. List of appearances *''Half-Life 2'' *''Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar'' *''Half-Life 2: Episode One'' *Source Particle Benchmark *''Half-Life 2: Episode Two'' Notes and references Category:Combine Units Category:Half-Life 2 Category:Half-Life 2: Episode One Category:Half-Life 2: Episode Two Category:Scanners Category:Enemies Category:Dhabih Eng designs Category:Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar Category:Robots